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Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike Review

The R616 is one of Nautilus mid-range recumbent bikes designed for home use. Packed full of features such as speakers, 3-speed fan, 29 workout programs and Bluetooth connectivity, the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike clearly sets itself apart from budget bikes.

These extras aren’t a cover-up either, the bike is durable, sturdy and well built and will provide an intense workout to keep most users satisfied.

Given that the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike costs around $500 on Amazon, does make it good value, and it’s price will test the willpower of potential buyers who originally wanted to only spend a couple hundred dollars for some other budget bike.

What is the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike?

The R616 was designed by fitness manufacturers Nautilus to bring a great number of features on a bike at an affordable price. The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike features mobile Bluetooth connectivity which automatically integrates with MyFitnessPal.

Its large display is DualTrack with high resolution backlit screen and holds up to 29 workout programs and allows connection to an MP3 player.

Built to give the user maximum comfort, it has a ventilated back support and also an inbuilt fan to keep you cool as you challenge yourself against 25 levels of resistance.

Nautilus R616 Review

We will now review the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike and rate it according to what we think are the most important factors when choosing an indoor bike for your home.

Price: 4.5/5

You get value for money with the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike. It has a lot of features that cheaper bikes do not have, yet at the same time doesn’t compromise on the build quality or ride experience.

Reliability & Warranty: 4/5

Overall it’s a reliable bike and there isn’t much that goes wrong with it. The fly-wheel is well made and offers a smooth and quiet ride.

The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike come’s with a 10-year warranty on the frame, 2 years mechanical, 1 year on the electrics and 90 days on the labour.

The warranty isn’t bad overall but it would have been more reassuring if Nautilus could at least offer a year of labour – 90 days is quite short.

Stability and Quality: 4/5

Once you’re on the bike it does feel stable, even more so because it’s a recumbent bike so you’re lower to the ground. Regarding the quality, it’s generally very well built and made to last.

The only real downfall of the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike appears to be either one of two things, the way it’s packaged or that it arrives with parts missing. It’s quite clear from Amazon reviews that most customers are extremely happy with the bike. However, the majority of the negative reviews, although few, focus on the points just mentioned.

There are occasions where Amazon reviewers reported that the box has arrived with all the styrofoam broken in pieces and parts broken or missing. Is Nautilus to blame or the delivery firm? Either way, you may want to pick one up in store or pay a little more for assembly so that any problems can be taken care of on delivery.

Noise: 5/5

The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike’s quiet high inertia flywheel

The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike’s flywheel barely produces any noise. You won’t have any problems listening to music or trying to watch TV whilst using this machine, even at high speeds. Furthermore, you aren’t going to be disturbing others when using this machine.

Size: 3.5/5

It is a relatively big bike, but not overly big. It isn’t foldable so it’s unlikely you’ll be storing this bike away after each workout, however, there are small wheels which you can transport the bike around rather than having to lift the whole bike.

The LCD console is much larger than most other bikes on the market, but this is understandable considering it has two screens, holds the speakers and has a fan in the unit.

Features: 4.5/5

Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike Dual Screen Console

If you are prepared to pay over the $500 mark for a bike, typically the bike will have more bells and whistles than the lower priced bikes, the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike is no different.

The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike comes with speakers for you to listen to your mp3 device, however, don’t expect amazing sound quality. Like all built-in speakers on cardio machines the sound is rather ‘tinny.’

Another added benefit is the inclusion of a 3-speed fan to keep you cool whilst you workout as well as the ability to measure your heart rate via the contact bar or via a chest strap transmitter. Let’s not forget that it also has a bottle holder for your water!

One of the more popular features of the bike amongst users is its ability to connect to a mobile device via Bluetooth. This function allows the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike to sync workout data to MyFitnessPal, which is particularly handy if you are a user of MyFitnessPal.

Should You Buy The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike?

For a couple of hundred dollars more than a budget machine, you really do get a whole lot of features thrown in. Bluetooth connectivity, speakers, heart rate monitoring, built-in fan, plentiful programs and 25 level of resistance. The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike is extremely feature rich.

It also passes the more important tests in terms of durability and quality. The flywheel is smooth to ride and quiet.

The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike makes a perfect bike to put in your living room and share with the rest of the family, as you watch TV or listen to your music.

It focuses on making you as comfortable as possible through its plethora of features yet at the same time can challenge you as much as you want. With the Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike, you’ll definitely get value for your money.